A/n: I hope you are enjoying this story! Thank you for reading and reviewing! :) Suggestions are always welcomed. I really appreciate anyone who has been reading any of my stories. Thank you :)
"Good morning," Olivia smiled, entering the living room with her son in her arms. She was dressed in the outfit she had picked out when Amanda was in the bedroom. As promised, the belt was used to secure Olivia's pants, not to beat Amanda with.
Amanda offered only a tiny smile in response. Olivia put her son down, and he immediately went to grab the television remote. When he turned it on, he climbed on the couch and sat next to Amanda.
"Hi," Noah smiled with a sweet grin.
"Hi," Amanda whispered to the toddler. Noah turned his attention to the television.
Amanda's eyes followed Olivia. She wanted to know exactly where Olivia was and what she was doing so she couldn't sneak up on Amanda and hurt her. Olivia noticed Amanda's gaze and gave her a questioning look.
"Everything okay?" Olivia asked, her tone kind and genuine. Amanda nodded in response, but Olivia knew that wasn't true.
"What would you like for breakfast?" Olivia wondered. She raised her eyebrows, as if to ask again, when Amanda didn't answer.
"Anything," she finally whispered. Her voice was so quiet Olivia almost didn't hear it.
Realizing the young blonde would be fine with anything as long as it was edible, Olivia decided on pancakes. She figured she couldn't go wrong with that. Pancakes were ready shortly, and Olivia served three plates. She gave a small pancake to her son with a little bit of syrup. She gave Amanda two pancakes with syrup, and she gave herself two as well with syrup.
"What would you like to drink?" Olivia wondered, pouring Noah a glass of orange juice.
"Can I h-have w-water, p-please?" Amanda asked.
"Of course. Are you sure you don't want coffee or orange juice instead?" Olivia questioned.
"Um, a-anything is f-fine," Amanda answered.
She wanted water. She wasn't given enough water in that basement. She always worried about when her next drink of water would be. However, she wasn't about to argue with Olivia. She would do whatever Olivia wanted. She didn't want to cause any conflict.
"Amanda, you can have anything you want. I just wanted you to know that water wasn't your only option. What would you like to drink?" Olivia repeated.
Amanda was growing anxious. She couldn't tell what Olivia wanted her to choose. She didn't want to give the wrong answer. She didn't want to anger Olivia. He would get so angry when Amanda answered incorrectly.
"Wh-whatever you want me to h-have," Amanda said. Olivia sighed.
"I want you to have whatever you want," Olivia answered, hoping that would help Amanda choose. She wondered how much control this woman had been under to fear voicing what she wanted when asked.
"Water, p-please, if that's o-ok-kay," Amanda finally responded.
"Of course," Olivia whispered. She gave Amanda a glass of water.
Olivia watched Amanda eat. Amanda ate quickly. She was so hungry. She downed her glass of water with just three drinks.
"Do you want more water?" Olivia asked, noticing how quickly Amanda drank.
"Y-yes, p-please," Amanda answered. Olivia refilled her glass, and, again, Amanda drank quickly.
After breakfast, Olivia did the dishes. Amanda sat on the couch, watching Noah play with action figures on the ground. He tried convincing Amanda to play with him, but she declined in the nicest way she could think to. A knock on the door startled Amanda, causing her to flinch.
"It's all right, Amanda. It's just my sitter," Olivia explained. She opened the door, and the same young woman from the day before entered with a bright smile.
"Lucy!" Noah shouted happily, running over to her.
"Noah!" Lucy mimicked him. She took the toddler in her arms.
"Amanda, can you come with me for a moment please?" Olivia asked, not wanting Lucy to overhear her work related conversation.
Amanda hesitated before following Olivia to her bedroom. She replayed the entire morning in her mind, trying to figure out if she did anything wrong to anger Olivia. She didn't want to be yelled at or hit by Olivia. The older woman was taller and stronger, and Amanda was sure her voice could be loud and her hits hard. She had tried so hard to be good, and she hoped Olivia wasn't angry at her.
They entered the bedroom, and Olivia shut the door. Olivia turned to face the younger woman. When she saw the fear and confusion in Amanda's eyes, she gave her a warm smile.
"It's okay. I just didn't want Lucy to hear this conversation because it's work related," Olivia explained. She sat down on the bed and offered Amanda a seat, but Amanda chose not to move.
"Did I do something wrong?" Amanda finally asked, breaking the silence.
"Oh, no, sweetheart. Not at all. I needed to talk to you about your case," Olivia answered. Amanda looked confused.
"The person who took you. We need to talk about that," Olivia explained. A look of panic appeared in Amanda's eyes.
"Are-are you s-sending me b-back?! You-you promised you wouldn't!" Amanda cried. Olivia immediately stood up from the bed and was trying to speak, but Amanda interrupted her.
"P-please, d-don't! Please! I-I'll be good! Please! I don't wanna go back! I'll be g-good!" Amanda pleaded. She slid to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest, and she began rocking herself back and forth. Her eyes shut tight as vivid memories hit her.
"Amanda, Amanda, it's okay. I'm not sending you back," Olivia tried explaining, but Amanda wasn't listening. Olivia placed a hand on the younger woman's shoulder. The young blonde flinched and let out a cry.
"P-please, d-don't h-hurt me anymore," Amanda whispered, tears streaming down her face.
"No, Amanda, it's me, Olivia. I wouldn't ever hurt you. Please, look at me," Olivia pleaded. Amanda finally looked at Olivia and realized she wasn't back in that terrible basement, about to be beaten and raped again.
"You're safe, honey. You're safe," Olivia whispered.
"I promise I'll be good. Please, don't send me back," Amanda whimpered. Her voice was shaking and filled with fear.
"Amanda, I would never, ever send you back there. You're safe here. I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise you that," Olivia said, her voice serious and loving.
"Th-then why do I have to talk about it?" Amanda asked shakily.
"I want to take you to the precinct and ask you a few questions. We want to get your statement so that we can find the disgusting person who hurt. Then, we can lock him up, and he'll never hurt anyone ever again," Olivia explained.
"What if you don't believe me? What if you think I'm lying?" Amanda asked, her voice a whisper. He told her nobody would believe her.
"Amanda, I know you're not lying. I know something terrible happened to you, and I will do everything in my power to get you justice," Olivia promised, her voice firm. Amanda nodded. She wasn't sure she trusted this person, but she didn't feel that she had any other options.
"Okay, then. I'll get you some clothes to wear, and then, we can go," Olivia smiled. Amanda nodded.
Olivia went to the dresser and found some clothes for Amanda. She decided on some jeans and a flannel. She went to the closet and grabbed a belt. She moved slowly, trying not to scare Amanda with the belt like this morning. Amanda still flinched when she saw the belt, and Olivia placed in at the edge of the bed, deciding not to come any closer with the leather belt in her hand.
"It's okay, Amanda. The belt isn't here to hurt you. It's just for the jeans. My clothes might be a bit big on you, so you'll need it," Olivia explained. Amanda nodded, understanding that Olivia had no intentions of hitting her with the leather material.
Olivia went to the bathroom and grabbed an extra toothbrush. She set her hairbrush next to the sink. She informed Amanda of the two items, giving her permission to use them.
"I'll be in the living room whenever you're ready," Olivia smiled before leaving the bedroom.
It took Amanda a few minutes to get dressed. Her entire body was sore and in pain. She put the tank top and flannel on first because she knew it would hurt less than putting on the jeans. She was right. Putting on the jeans hurt more. She put them on quickly, hoping to minimize the pain between her legs, but she was sure she had maximized the pain by the time her jeans were buttoned up. She slid the belt on and headed to the bathroom. Brushing her teeth didn't take too long, but she spent a lot of time brushing her hair. It was full of knots. When it was all brushed out, Amanda headed to the living room.
"Ready to go?" Olivia asked. Amanda nodded, not making eye contact. Olivia said goodbye to her son and Lucy. Then, she and Amanda exited the apartment.
The car ride was silent. Amanda was fidgeting in her seat, nervous about what was to come. Each time Olivia moved her hand while driving, Amanda flinched, thinking she would be hit. Olivia didn't notice at first, but when she did, her heart sank.
"Amanda, I'm not going to hit you," Olivia told her, her voice soft and sad. Amanda didn't respond. She didn't even move. Olivia wondered if Amanda had heard her.
Amanda did hear her. However, she didn't believe her. She knew, at some point sooner or later, Olivia was going to hit her. Almost everyone Amanda has met in the last year has hit her, and she knew Olivia would be no different.
When they reached the precinct, Amanda hesitantly followed her into the building. Amanda was careful to keep her distance from Olivia, still afraid of the older woman. However, as they walked through the hallways, Amanda saw men walking as well and became afraid. She let out a whimper and stepped closer to Olivia.
"No customers. P-please, n-no customers. Sh-she pr-promised I-I didn't h-have to have any c-customers," Amanda whispered to herself.
"Amanda, you okay?" Olivia asked. Amanda was practically clinging to Olivia, not because she trusted her, but because she didn't trust the men more.
"No customers. Please, no customers," Amanda repeated to herself.
"Amanda, you're not here for customers," Olivia told her. She still wasn't sure what Amanda meant by customers, but she wanted Amanda to know nobody would hurt her.
"B-but th-there's so many," Amanda whimpered.
"Can you point some out to me?" Olivia questioned, trying to figure out what she was talking about. Amanda started pointing at men, and Olivia caught on.
"Were all of the customers men?" Olivia asked. Amanda nodded.
"What did the customers do?" Olivia asked. Amanda let out another whimper.
"I can't tell you," she said, her voice shaking.
"Did they hurt you?" Olivia continued. Amanda nodded. A man walked too close to Amanda, and she whimpered again. She clung to Olivia's arm.
"No more. No more. No more customers. Please, Olivia. Please, don't make me. I'll be g-good. I'll do whatever you s-say. J-just please, n-no m-more customers. Please," Amanda begged. Olivia wrapped an arm around the very tensed up woman.
"Sshhh. I won't make you take any more customers. Whatever you were forced to do, you'll never have to do it again. You don't have to have any more customers. And stop promising me that you'll be good. You haven't done anything wrong, and even if you do make a mistake, I'm not going to hurt you for it. You're safe with me," Olivia promised the young blonde.
"Thank you, Olivia. Thank you for not making me take m-more customers. I h-hate customers. It hurts so much," Amanda whimpered.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, but I promise no one will hurt you anymore," Olivia told her.
Amanda still clung to the lieutenant. It was as though she feared a man would come and hurt her if she let go of Olivia. Her nails were digging into Olivia's skin, but Amanda didn't notice.
"Ow. Loosen your grip, sweetie. I'm not leaving you," Olivia smiled sadly. Amanda realized her nails were cutting into Olivia's arm and immediately let go.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry," Amanda apologized.
"It's all right. It's all right. Don't apologize. I'm not upset. I just want you to know that you don't have to be scared," Olivia told her.
Amanda didn't grab onto Olivia again for fear of hurting her again and angering her in the process. She stood closer to Olivia than necessary and flinched whenever a man came too close. Olivia's heart sank for the young blonde. She couldn't imagine how horrible it must be to be so scared of everything constantly.
The two entered the squad room. Amanda recognized Detective Carisi from the other day at the hospital. She saw another male detective near him. Amanda let out a whimper.
"Everything all right?" Carisi asked, noticing how scared the young blonde was. Amanda clung to Olivia again, and Carisi stepped closer to them.
"Amanda, do you remember Detective Carisi from the hospital?" Olivia wondered. Amanda nodded. Carisi took another step closer, and Amanda flinched. She let go of Olivia and began backing away.
"No customers. Please, no customers. Olivia said I didn't have to," Amanda whispered to herself.
"Honey, Detective Carisi and Detective Fin are here to help," Olivia informed her, pointing to Detective Fin. Fin and Carisi nodded in agreement.
"Come with me for a moment," Olivia commanded the younger woman. Amanda followed her to an interview room.
"I'm going to go brief the other detectives. Can I get you anything to drink?" Olivia offered.
"C-can I have w-water, p-please?" Amanda asked.
"Of course. I'll be right back," Olivia smiled.
"You're leaving me?" Amanda asked alarmed.
"I'll be right back," Olivia promised.
"No, please. What if a c-customer comes in?" Amanda asked, tears welling up in her eyes. Olivia's heart broke. This young blonde didn't trust anybody. In her mind, everyone was trying to hurt her.
"I promise you that won't happen. Everyone here wants to help you. No one will come into this room without my permission, and I'm going to give anyone permission," Olivia said seriously.
"What if they don't listen?" Amanda wondered, a tear sliding down her face.
"They have to. I'm the boss," Olivia smirked. Amanda nodded.
"I promise you're safe," Olivia spoke in a soft voice.